Author Archives: Phil

Church Planter: Is it time to retire this theologically poor term?

I’m getting sick of the term ‘church planter’.  Really, we need to find new (ancient?) vocabulary.  We mean well, of course, but it must be offensive for God to see his creations giving themselves titles that belong only to him, … Continue reading

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Overcoming Fears of Urban Life: The handshake that changed my life

I remember how scared I was the first time I shook the hand of a “homeless” person.  It was 12 years ago.  Potluck Sunday at the Hollywood Church of Christ (the church who sent our families out as domestic missionaries).  … Continue reading

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Choosing a Mission Field: Strategic Places and Strategic Living

Thoughts on strategy from a recent Way of Life Village gathering… When we started out on this mission we told people why East Hollywood is a strategic place for us to share and demonstrate the message of Jesus Christ. People … Continue reading

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Missionary Methods: Investing in the God behind the experiment

  [Minor editing to this article has occurred since it originally was posted.] What we’re doing in LA is an experiment. Some churches don’t like to support experiments. 

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Life In EHO: Being evangelized by the Bahá’í

I’ve been meaning to write about this for a couple months.  There are some Bahá’í missionaries who come to our neighborhood every Monday night to convert all of us to the Bahá’í Faith

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Life In EHO: Sometimes they come back into your life…

[formerly titled "Blast from the past"]  I’ve written about a wandering young man I used to study the Bible with who pops in and out of my life about every 6 to 9 months or so.  I’ll call him Jeremy.  Thursday … Continue reading

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Life In EHO: What I wouldn’t give to speak every language…

There are days when I am awed by how much I can understand and communicate in Spanish (not my native language).  By God’s Spirit I find myself navigating conversations light years beyond my level of competency.  But Saturday was not … Continue reading

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